In the late afternoon of September 21, 2020, a young Black man named Dorian Banks, aged 22, was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Dodge's Fried Chicken and Gas Station on West Main Street in Hendersonville, Tennessee. The incident, which occurred around 4:30 p.m., was later determined by investigators to have stemmed from a drug deal that turned violent.
Banks, a resident of Gallatin, was rushed to Hendersonville Medical Center, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead.
The investigation into the shooting was a collaborative effort involving the Hendersonville Police Department, the Murfreesboro Police Department, and the Metro Nashville Police Department. Through their investigation, authorities were able to identify three suspects from Murfreesboro in connection with Banks' death. Keion Hayes, Monterrious Moore, and Thomas Watson were subsequently charged with first-degree murder and aggravated robbery. Hayes also faced an additional charge for possession of a weapon during the commission of a felony. Following the charges, Moore and Watson were booked into the Sumner County Jail, while Hayes was initially held in the Rutherford County Jail on unrelated charges.
In a later development, Keion Hayes entered into a plea agreement. Court documents revealed that the state had extended plea offers to both Hayes and co-defendant Monterrious Moore as a 'package deal.' Facing the possibility of a life sentence for a first-degree murder charge, Hayes pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter, as well as aggravated robbery. The factual basis presented in court confirmed that Hayes's gun was the weapon that fired the shots, ultimately killing Dorian Banks. Hayes received an effective sentence of eighteen years in confinement. It was also noted that co-defendant Thomas Watson's case had been severed and he was slated to testify against Hayes and Moore.
